After weeks, if not months, of corporate eLearning development and extensive testing, it’s finally time to launch your newly-minted online training course.

But before you put your LMS into the spotlight you must answer one very important question: Is your organisation ready for it?

Learning Management Systems allow your company to design, deliver, track, and maintain its online training programs. This is one of the primary reasons why choosing the right LMS for your corporate training needs is a top priority. Once you’ve done your research and found the ideal match, however, there are a variety of things that you’ll have to consider prior to the LMS roll-out. In fact, the preparation process can be one of the most time-consuming and stressful aspects of corporate training deployment. Fortunately, there are some tips that make the LMS roll-out process go smoothly, regardless of whether you have 5 or 500 employees to consider.

1. Gather all of your assets.Many people might naturally assume that choosing the Learning Management System is the first step of the LMS roll-out process, but there is actually an all-important task that comes before. To find the LMS that suits your corporate training needs you must know what those needs are and what online training materials you’ll be uploading. After identifying your performance goals and objectives, gather all of your corporate online training assets and figure out what stays and what goes. For example, you may choose to keep all of your sales training videos, but prefer to create new eLearning assessments from scratch. This step can also significantly reduce development time, because you won’t have to design every component from the ground up and can simply upload it to the LMS.

2. Develop a deployment plan.It’s easy to get carried away and just dive right into the online content integration process. However, before you do this you should have a clear and concise deployment plan of how you are going to achieve the desired outcomes. Where does the LMS fit into your overall corporate training program, and how are you going to deliver the online training content to your employees? Speak with management, employees, and contributors to determine the role that your LMS will play and your staff’s expectations. This is also the time to address any questions or concerns that your employees might have and ensure that everyone is on board. Keep in mind that even the most resistant employees can be won over if the benefits are convincing enough.

3. Get your IT team ready for the task.Your IT team is going to play a pivotal role in the LMS deployment process. Not only are they going to be setting it up and transferring all of the online training content, but they will need to be on-hand to troubleshoot issues and offer support to your team. Other IT tasks might include extracting data, creating online training course descriptions, and formatting all of the online training content so that it is compatible with the LMS. In some cases, the LMS vendor may include on-site training or specialist support to prepare your organisation for the LMS roll-out. However, your IT team must also be ready for any eventuality that arises after the launch. This may involve online training or tutorials that cover the most common problems companies face when launching an online training program.

4. Create an LMS roll-out schedule.There is a great deal of work to be done before an LMS roll-out, which is why it’s always wise to create a detailed schedule that maps out every step along the way. This timeline should include everything from training your facilitators to importing specific online training modules and activities. You must also leave plenty of time for any hiccups that may occur throughout the process, rather than creating tight deadlines that don’t allow for any troubleshooting. For instance, if your IT team cannot figure out how to reformat an important online training activity you can allocate extra time and still stick to your deadline.

5. Keep the lines of communication open.Every member of your eLearning team, including employees who are not involved with the LMS roll-out directly, should be an integral part of the LMS launch. Their feedback is an invaluable resource that allows you to customise the online training to meet their individual goals. Leadership training can also provide you with insight into employee backgrounds, performance gaps, skills that must be developed, and online training preferences. If possible, enlist the help of department heads who can give a clear idea of what needs to be uploaded into the LMS to address the training needs of their staff. Be sure to carry out testing in each department to ensure that you’ve covered all of the key skills and topics prior to the LMS roll-out.

6. Make sure everyone is aware of the goals and expectations.Each member of your staff should be aware of the organisational goals, online training goals, and the expectations that you have for the LMS. They must know why the LMS is being used and what purpose it serves, as well as how it will benefit their work performance. This will help your IT department and any other contributors to integrate the appropriate content and create an online training course that aligns with your corporate training objectives. It’s always a good idea to conduct a pre-launch or LMS orientation meeting to ensure that everyone knows the features of the LMS and how to use them effectively. This also gives you the opportunity to get all of your employees on the same page and notify them of the LMS roll-out schedule you’ve created, so that they can find out about their respective deadlines.

Get your company ready for the upcoming LMS roll-out by using this guide. Paving the way for new LMS can remove any obstacles that stand in the way of your organisation’s success. As a result, you can maximise your corporate eLearning ROI and smooth out any bumps in the road well in advance.

Find out more about how Docebo LMS can be right for your organisation, by exploring the features and benefits in our co-hosted Docebo webinar.